It’s rare for a Hollywood ending to happen in real life. The story of Francis Ouimet improbable victory in the 1913 U.S. Open golf tournament is all the more interesting because it actually happened. Ouimet, an amateur, won a playoff against British superstars Harry Vardon and Ted Ray.
An event that happened almost 100 years ago can be hard to depict in film: that’s the best quality of The Greatest Game Ever Played. Vardon and Ray seem unbeatable, and Ouimet seems like he probably was: the ultimate underdog. A quote in the movie called the matchup “A David against two Goliaths” and that seems pretty appropriate.
As you might expect in a movie like this, Ouimet held steady at every swing and came away with a hard-fought victory. It was the first amateur victory in the U.S. Open, and paved the way for golf to grow in America. The movie is great, but the story told is both true and timeless.
